Ashes
by bloodyhood
Summary: this is a prequel to RWBY so to speak. its set around nineteen to twenty years before the events of Rwby and sets some things up. this is my first fanfic ever, but feedback would be very much appreciated, whether it be positive or negative. hope you enjoy.


Back then I really didn't know what to think of everything that happened around me. I was just another face in the crowd gazing on as the world passed me by and brought greatness to those who pursued the world and tried to hang on with the flow. Back then I was just a boy who was trying not to stick out and just live a normal life. When all of this started I was nineteen years old. While most of my family had chosen to go to beacon academy, I had refused. I always liked the idea of being a hunter, but I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it. I was never very good at fighting and the world was running out of dust anyway. I had decided to go into medicine. I wanted to become a doctor so when hunters would get hurt I could at least patch them up. That would be my contribution to the fight against the creatures of Grimm.

During those times, fighting Grimm was a lot harder. Now dust is as abundant as ever, but back then it almost went away. Nobody knew where dust was so people were giving up on the business. Everyone except Braun Schnee. Braun Schnee was a high profile business man. His family had always been rich and had always found a way to make money. Braun had enough money to buy dust from oversees, but it cost so much he could hardly turn a profit. That's where this story starts becoming clearer. If all of the dust in vale and the surrounding area hadn't gone missing, none of this would have ever happened. If he hadn't been desperately looking for a way to keep his business afloat, he would have never ran into Yin Xiao Long. He's the root of this whole mess, but he couldn't have confined it to just the captains of business, no, he had to drag people like me and Noir into the mix. Well I guess I'm just as dumb as the titans were, because I trusted him after what he did the first time I met him.

* * *

I was skipping class again. I know I said before that I was studying to become a doctor, but what I meant by that is that I was going to school for it, but mostly used my time wandering around Vale looking for something to do. Admittedly I found medicine to be quite dull. I had always wanted to be a hunter, but I kinda sucked at fighting. I was also really awkward around other people so that was a problem too. So I wandered the streets looking for anything to do. This would get me in trouble sometimes, but it's whatever.

I was doing this again and found myself walking down an alley. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I did it. That's when a guy who looked scared and was running away from something ran around the corner and ran into me. The dude looked terrified, like he had seen the devil up close and personal.

That's when he pulled out a knife and yelled "Give me all your money!" I was incredibly naive back then so I'm guessing you wouldn't believe me when I tell you that I didn't understand at first.

"Well I'd like to sir," I said, "you look like you need money more than I do, but I don't have any with me." yeah, that's what I said. I hadn't realized that I was being robbed yet.

"I don't believe you!" he yelled, "Listen, just give me the money, and no one gets hurt. I won't get hurt, you won't get hurt, no one will get hurt!"

"Wait a second," I said finally coming to a realization, "are you… mugging me?"

"Yes!" he yelled. This didn't change the fact that I didn't have any money. After he said that, he started rambling, but I wasn't paying attention to him. My attention narrowed and focused on the person who was walking up behind him. He was a man with medium length blonde hair and some sort of strange device on his arms. He wore a large gold hoodie that had a lot of fur around it. When he noticed me he lifted a finger up to his mouth so as to shush me. Then he dropped lower and silently charged up to the man, twirling his hand counter-clockwise. Razor wire shot from his wrist. He ran up to the man and hooked the wire around the mugger's neck, and then twirled his hand clockwise, tightening the wire around his neck.

"You shouldn't go around mugging people y'know." The blonde man said tightening the wire even more, "you never know who you might run into." I looked away as the blonde man twisted his hand clockwise one more time. The blonde haired man grabbed me and pulled me out of the alley. I heard a scream as a woman discovered the body.

* * *

"W-what just happened?" I was in shock. That was the first time I had seen a person die, but it certainly wasn't the last.

"You were being mugged by the serial killer known as the black death." He said. I had recognized the name from nightly news reporting on it. How he would have known that that was the right person, I would never know.

"T-thanks, I g-guess," I was still a little shaken up, "W-whats your name?"

"My name?" he said, "I guess I can tell ya. The name's Yin Xiao Long. What about you?"

"I'm Crimson Rose," I said. And that was like a binding contract that I could never escape from. I was stuck with this guy until he grew tired of me or gave up on me all together. This was the beginning of something that could only end in tragedy.


End file.
